Looking After Number One
by Jo7
Summary: ***Chapter 2 (third part) now added*** A fic about Ella and Rachel - set in the future. Don't want to give too much away! ;) Ella goes to see Rachel, against Elizabeth's wishes. But who was right?
1. Prologue

Author's Note: This was an idea I had recently, which I thought was a bit different (at least, I hope it's different!) I know it's not a Carby, but I wanted a change! There will be a *little* Carby bit though, since I can't go without it. ;) Please r&r: give it a chance, please! *g*  
  
PROLOGUE  
  
("Can I still see her?"  
"Of course you can, she's your sister.")  
  
Ella Greene smiled as she walked through the front door: she'd had a great afternoon with Rachel, and she couldn't wait till the next time her sister was in town.  
  
"Where have you been Ella?" her mother asked sternly, coming out of the kitchen.  
  
"At the cinema. What's this, is it Be Protective of Ella day?"  
  
"You're my daughter, Ella, what do you expect?"  
  
"Right, and I'm the only part of my father you have left," she recited, knowing the whole argument off by heart. "I just went to see a film Mum. And it was only a PG, no panic! Then I went for a milkshake and came home."  
  
"What were you doing with Rachel?" Elizabeth asked firmly.  
  
"You've been stalking me now? Wonderful!" she exclaimed, turning to walk up the stairs.  
  
"Answer me, Ella Greene."  
  
"I can do what I want, okay?" She hated arguing like this with her mother, but it always seemed to happen just by being in the same room as her.  
  
"Last time I checked the law didn't state that you're an adult at 15. Which means that, actually, you can't do what you want."  
  
"Okay, I'm sorry - I'll tell you first next time, so you can come along and hold my hand." She smiled falsely. "That suit you?"  
  
"I don't want you to see her again, Ella," Elizabeth explained. Ella opened her mouth to protest, but she interrupted her. "She nearly killed you. I'm not having my daughter hanging around with someone who nearly killed her."  
  
"I was 9 months old! Rachel was 14. It's hardly a recent thing. Anyway, I thought you told Rachel she could still see me after Dad died."  
  
"Yeah, I did. But that was when I was naïve, and thought she had actually changed. But she carried on taking drugs, and living a lifestyle I don't want you adopting." Ella could see this upset her mother, and so tried her best to end the argument.  
  
"It won't happen again Mum," she once again said, and turned to go up the stairs again.  
  
"Breathe on me Ella," Elizabeth requested, a stern frown on her face.  
  
"WHAT?!" Ella exclaimed, whirling around angrily to stare at her mother. "I'm not Rachel. I haven't been drinking, or smoking. And you can do as many tests on me as you like: you won't find any drugs."  
  
"Just do as you're told, please." Ella stepped forward, huffed angrily in Elizabeth's face, and then turned and ran up the stairs.  
  
"See, I haven't been smoking or drinking," she yelled from the top of the stairs. "Why can't you just trust me to not do anything stupid?!"  
  
*** 


	2. Chapter 1

Author's note: This is the first chapter, now. The whole story will be set in this time period - the prologue was just to set the scene (as 'prologue' implies! *g*). Thanks for the lovely feedback, I really like getting feedback, and the suggestions I've had have helped me in a way. A note I should make before you read this part: Susan doesn't seem entirely right here. I'm not sure *why*, I usually find her the easiest, it just wouldn't work! If anyone can spot where I've gone wrong with her, please let me know! 

Chapter 1 _3 years later_

"Ella!" Susan exclaimed, smiling, when she opened her front door to reveal Ella Greene. "What a nice surprise, come in." Ella stepped through the door, and followed Susan through to the living room. "So, to what do I owe the privilege of a visit from you?" She sat down on the sofa, and indicated for Ella to do the same. 

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Susan nodded at her, meaning for her to continue. "What would you do if your Mum wouldn't let you do something, but you really wanted to do it, and it actually wasn't that bad? Like, she was just being overprotective and silly not allowing you to do it." 

"Are we talking about you, Ella?" She laughed slightly, having received a glare from Ella. "Well, if this person that we're talking about were an adult, then her mother couldn't actually stop her. But she should consider the reasons why her mother wasn't allowing her to do this thing." 

"Yeah, but what about if she could do it without her Mum knowing, should she?" 

"Ella..." 

"It's really not bad! She just wants to go shopping with her sister who she hasn't seen in three years!" 

"You're meeting up with Rachel?" Ella smiled shyly. "Well, why doesn't your Mum want you to?" 

She shrugged. "She's overprotective and stupid. I'm an adult, but I still can't do what I like. She thinks that Rachel will give me drugs, and get me into loads of trouble." 

"Did it occur to you that she might be right?" Susan asked, unsure how she should best advise Ella. 

"Rachel's changed!" she exclaimed, almost angrily. "She's not 14 anymore, she's not going to give me ecstasy or anything. Anyway, she has a kid of her own, she's responsible now." 

"She's got a kid?" Ella nodded. "She married?" 

"No. Why?" 

"Is she in a long term relationship?" She shook her head. "Do you think it's very responsible to have a child outside of a long term relationship?" 

"No, I guess not," she sighed. "But she has to be responsible for Leigh, even if that was forced on her because of something irresponsible." 

"How old's Leigh?" 

"Nine months. This is part of my point, Susan. I have a niece I've never even met! I want to meet her: Rachel's sent pictures, and she's so lovely." 

"Don't you think you should be talking to your mum about this?" Susan queried, wondering what Elizabeth would actually make of all this. 

"That's what I've been trying to tell you - I know she won't let me, and I don't know what to do." 

"So you're bringing me into this, so that I can get in trouble too?" 

"No!" she defended. "I was just asking for advice." 

"But now, if you do go, I'll know, and I'll be responsible for not telling your mum." 

"I want to go." 

"I'm not your mother, I can't tell you what to do." Susan wished she could give better advice, but she really didn't know what to say - she knew that when she was 18 she would have wanted to be treated like an adult, but she also knew that Elizabeth wouldn't want Ella going behind her back. 

Ella sat silently for a while, contemplating what to do. "What happens if I go?" she asked quietly after a while. "What will you do?" 

"I don't know," she shrugged. "But if I don't know whether you're going or not, I can't do anything about it, can I?" Ella smiled at her widely. 

"Really?" 

"I wouldn't let slip what you're going to decide, or I might have to tell your mum," she replied, returning the smile. They got up and moved towards the front door, which Susan opened for Ella. 

"Thank you Susan," she said, smiling warmly. "That chat helped." She stepped out the door and started down the sidewalk. 

"Enjoy yourself!" Susan called after her, a broad, but wary, grin across her face. 

*** 


	3. Chapter 2

New chapter! *g* Hope you all like this - I had to get some Carby in there somewhere. ;) Don't let it but non-Carby's off though, this is it! lol! This is sort of an interlude in the story. I know that Carter and Abby seem really childish, but I kinda like them that way, even though I'm not entirely sure it is true to character. Nothing seems to come out the way I want it at the moment, so I have to settle for second best. :-/ 

One last thing - someone's been flaming this fic (you know who you are), and I'd just like to politely ask that you stop. If you don't like my fic, please don't read it. Your flames have been deleted, since I take offence to them. Also, if you really feel the need to flame, at least have the courtesy to leave your email address so that I can explain myself. Thanks.   
Thanks to everyone else for all the great reviews, and suggestions of things that I'm doing wrong/where I could go. I really appreciate feedback and constructive criticism! 

Chapter 2

"Sitting in Doc Magoo's always reminds me of the old days," Abby said wistfully. 

"Old days? You make us sound ancient!" 

"Well, you are nearly 50 Carter." 

"So you mention my age and not yours?" he laughed, trying to glare at her but failing. She returned the glare, much more successfully, and then grinned widely at him. 

"A lady never reveals her age." 

"So, Abigail Carter calls herself a lady now?" She grabbed the menu that was stood on the table and hit him across the arm with it, and playing glint in her eye. "Getting vicious are we?" 

"I can be vicious if you want, my darling John." 

"Am I the only one that wants to be sick here?" he asked, laughing. 

"Now that you mention it...I think it may have been those burgers!" she joked. 

"Food poisoning, huh?" he queried. She nodded firmly, her mouth set in a grim line. "What, stomach cramp, being sick, feeling really tired?" 

"Of course." 

"Well then, you'll be too tired this evening..." 

"JOHN!" she cried, hitting him across the arm once again with the menu. 

"That poor menu, it's going to be scarred for life." 

"Aww, feeling empathy for inanimate objects now?" 

"This menu is poor, and helpless, and..." 

"Inanimate?" Abby provided helpfully, earning herself another attempted glare. 

"You guys spend your lunch discussing menus?" a voice interrupted them. "You really need to get a life you know!" They both looked up at Ella, who'd just come up to their booth. 

"Hey Ells!" Carter said, grinning. "Don't worry, we don't normally talk about menus." 

"No, it's usually napkins," Abby said, winking at Ella, who laughed. 

"Do you mind if I join you?" 

"Course not, sit down!" Abby said, moving over for her. "So, what are you doing here? I didn't think Doc's was your sort of place." 

"I'm meeting Rachel here," she explained, picking up the menu. 

"Rachel? As in your sister?" She nodded. 

"You know, I don't think that menu's quite the same, not after all that menu-bashing from Abby," Carter said, laughing and taking it from Ella. "Let me provide you with another one." He reached across to another table, and picked up a menu. 

"You guys are just a pair of kids, aren't you?" Ella asked, smiling. 

"Us?" Carter asked incredulously, looking at Abby. "You think we're kids?" She shrugged. 

"Oh, the young'un doesn't know what it was like to be a kid in the good old days," she replied, making Ella giggle. 

"I can only imagine what your house would have been like if you two had had kids!" she laughed. They were interrupted by a waitress coming up and asking Ella what she wanted. After she'd ordered a coke, they returned to their conversation. 

"So, what's Rachel doing in Chicago?" Abby asked. 

"I'm not really sure to be honest, I didn't actually ask her! I was just glad that I was going to see my sister again, and get to meet my niece." 

"She has a baby?" Abby asked, smiling. "Aww, how old?" 

"Nine months." 

"Cute." Just then, the door opened, and Rachel walked in with a pushchair. Ella waved her over, and she came up to their booth. 

"Ella!" she said, pulling her sister into a hug. "I can't believe it's been three years." 

"Me either," she laughed, and then turned to Abby and Carter. "Do you remember Abby and Carter? They worked with Dad." 

"Oh, hi," Rachel said, smiling shyly. Abby was amazed at the difference in her. Last time she'd seen her was at Mark's funeral, and she'd been a young, fairly pretty girl, with long wavy blonde hair, and an attitude problem. Now, she had a short, cropped hair cut, and so far seemed quite pleasant. 

"Do you want a drink or something first, or shall we go straight to the shops?" Ella asked. She seemed slightly nervous, but at the same time excited about seeing her sister again. 

"Let's hit the shops - Leigh gets a bit restless if we sit around for too long." Ella nodded, and picked up her bag. 

"I'll see you guys soon," she said, smiling at Carter and Abby. They said their goodbyes, and Ella, Rachel and Leigh left. 

"She seems...different," Abby noted aloud. 

"Yeah. But then she's not 14 anymore." 

"It's a shame we all have to grow up," she mused, to which Carter nodded. "Do you want to share a packet of Twinkies?" 

*** 


End file.
